Siblingitis
by annalyia
Summary: Anna is at Peter's house once again. Only this time, she is left alone with his siblings (cue ominous music).


The door swings behind Peter, leaving me with his siblings. The look on his face is completely apologetic as he closes it to go and speak with his parents.

I return my gaze to Andrew, Hannah, and Danny. Andrew is leaning back in his recliner, arms crossed and eyes somewhere other than me. Hannah and Danny are sitting on the floor, playing some hand game that ends with Hannah slapping Danny for messing up. Hannah looks at me after she is done glowering at her brother for his lack of skills.

"Why did he leave you here?"

"Because I don't need to talk to your parents with him."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"C'mon, Hannah, we all know Daddy wouldn't want someone not in the family talking to him," Danny says, still nursing the spot where his sister hit him. "And just 'cause she's datin' Peter doesn't mean she's family."

"I know that, Danny," Hannah snaps haughtily. "But I don't see why she didn't just go home."

"I wasn't supposed to go home yet, Hannah," I say. "No one's here to pick me up."

Hannah snorts and then continues to teach her brother the hand game from earlier.

"So, Andrew, how are you –"

"Don't."

"Excuse me?"

"Did I ask you to talk to me?" Andrew raises an eyebrow and stares pointedly at me. "If not, then why are you speaking?"

"I just assumed that we could try and chat since we're here in this room together until Peter returns."

Andrew shifts in his seat, moving forward and resting his chin on his interlocked fingers, elbows on his knees. "I suppose that makes sense," he says. "What would you have us discuss?"

"I don't know," I say, completely taken aback by Andrew's willingness to hold a conversation with me. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm twenty," Andrew says bluntly. "I'm in college."

"Oh. Is it fun?"

He chuckles. "You could say that."

"What are you majoring in?"

"I'm a pre-law student, at the moment. I'm hoping to go to Harvard once I graduate and continue pursuing my interests there," he says.

I refrain from replying with 'that sounds really pretentious' because I understand that it would not be the best decision. "Ambitious," is my choice instead. "What do your parents think of it?"

"Well, Dad thinks that it's a great idea – he's a government contractor for a large company, so he thinks that this is a good opportunity to make a name for myself instead of riding his coattails," Andrew tells me, leaning back in his chair once again and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Mom just smiles and tells me to do whatever makes me happy."

"And does this?"

Andrew's eyes widen and I can tell that he his startled by my question. "Yes," is all he says.

"That's good, then," I reply. "Where would you like to work?"

He shrugs. "Wherever will give me a job, really," he says. "I'm open to most places."

"Well, _I_ want to be a doctor when I grow up and go to school," Hannah butts in, once again displeased with her twin. "I think that saving other people's lives would be really cool."

Andrew smiles at his little sister, and I see the same kindness that their mother possesses. "That's wonderful, Hannah," he says. "The world will be a better place because of your work, I just know it."

Maybe he's not so bad after all.

"I wanna be an archeologist!" Danny blurts out. "I could see so many cool things and go to so many cool places and it would just be so cool."

"Good idea, buddy. But what would you want to dig up?"

"Dinosaurs."

Andrew laughs, fully and heartily at Danny's statement. "Then I think you want to be a paleontologist, Danny," he says through his few remaining chuckles. "Archeologists deal more with ancient places that people used to live and where they were buried."

"I want to do that too, though."

"I'm not sure what to tell you, then, buddy," Andrew says, sighing. "Maybe both are possible."

Andrew returns his attention to me. "What do _you_ want to be when you grow up, Anna?"

"A wildlife zoologist," I say without thinking. I think it's a legitimate future for me, given my background. "I, uh, love animals a lot and I would love to work with them in the future. I think it'd be fantastic to work in a zoo with all of the exotic animals there; all of them are so fascinating and different."

Hannah's face lights up. "Oh, that sounds like so much fun, Anna!" she squeals. "I'd so be a vet if I wasn't gonna be a doctor," she tells me solemnly. "Dogs are very cute, if you ask me."

"Would you work with dinosaurs?" Danny asks me very seriously.

"Um…I don't think I would, seeing as those don't live in zoos."

"Or at all," Hannah chimes in.

"I know that," Danny says, sticking his tongue out at his sister. "I meant with their skeletons."

"Probably not," I say. "They don't tend to have those in zoos or national parks."

Danny scowls. "Then what's the point?"

"Daniel," Andrew says very sharply. "We respect other people here, remember?"

"I remember."

"What do you say?"

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"It's alright," I say, extending my hand for a handshake that Danny returns.

At this point, Andrew, once again, leans back in his chair. The twins, however, instead of staying on the floor, drag me to the other recliner with them so they can both sit on my lap and snuggle close. I wrap both my arms around them and smile. It's been a while since I've been around real children; children whose innocence is not yet lost and children who love the life that they have. It is nice.

"Can we watch a movie?" Hannah asks after she is comfortable.

"Which one?" Andrew rises from his seat and walks over to where we are sitting.

"Disney."

"Well, which Disney movie?"

"I wanna see Meet the Robinsons," Danny says. "It has dinosaurs in it."

Andrew smiles and ruffles his little brother's hair. "Good plan, buddy."

"What kind of dinosaur is in this movie, Danny?" I ask him.

"He's a T-rex. You can tell because of his body and how his arms are really small but his head is really big so he can use his teeth and feet to tear up his food. He doesn't really need his front arms," Danny informs me. "I like dinosaurs a lot," he says.

"I can tell."

"Have you seen any of their skeletons before?"

I nod. "I've been to a couple of museums."

"We went to the one with that big T-rex, Sue, in it," Danny says. "She was so cool! Her teeth were really huge and she used 'em to eat, just like this—" he proceeds to show me how Sue the dinosaur would have eaten her prey. "It's hard for us because we have different kinds of teeth than they do."

"I see." I rest my head on his.

"What are you doing?"

"Snuggling."

"Oh, okay."

"Is that alright?"

"Mhm."

We make it about a quarter of the way through the movie before Peter returns from his conversation with his parents. His mouth curves into a lovely smile when he sees us. "Good to know that everything is going okay," he says, taking a seat on the arm of the chair that the twins and I are in. A gentle kiss is placed against my forehead and an arm is thrown around my shoulder. "I take it you survived?" he whispers in my ear.

"You bet."

"Good."

We finish our movie and the twins, much to their dismay, leave with Andrew when he tells them that Peter and I deserve some time alone. After they are out the door, I stand, letting Peter slide into the armchair so that I can curl up on his lap.

"How did it go?"

"Pretty well. We talked about what we want to be when we're grown up."

"What was your answer?"

"Wildlife zoologist. I figured it was a good answer, considering my background."

"A good answer indeed," Peter replies, nuzzling his face into my neck and planting a kiss there. He sighs contentedly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Just that you're beautiful."

"Oh, well, if that's all," I say coyly. Peter chuckles. "What?" I ask again.

"You're also funny. And smart. And just overall wonderful," he tells me.

"Why are you so complimentary today?"

He shrugs. "Just figured I'd let you know how much I love you."

I stiffen. He…loves me? This is new. "Oh you do?"

Peter moves so that we're facing each other. "Is that…bad? Did I say it at the wrong time? Did I do this wrong?"

A loud laugh escapes my lips, and, as soon as it does, I can see the regret and embarrassment in Peter's face as his cheeks flush and he slouches.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"What? Oh, Peter, no! You didn't do anything wrong, I promise. It was…just a very cute reaction, what can I say?"

He smiles a little. "You could say it back."

"Say what back?"

"Well, I just told you I love you, so…" he trails off.

"Am I supposed to say that I love you too?" He nods. I smile. "In that case, I love you too, Peter."

"Awesome." He kisses me. Softly at first, but soon with some sort of vigor that I have not seen with him before. One hand runs through my curls, and his lips take mine slowly as if to savor them. The other hand moves to the small of my back, pushing us close together. I smile against his lips, lacing my fingers together behind his head. His kisses become slower until they stop altogether. "Also awesome."

I giggle, and move to lock his lips to mine again. Peter's hands move to my waist, and he pulls me as close as he can, his chest pressed against mine. One hand then travels to the small of my back again, where it draws small circles that make me shiver. The other plays with my hair. He makes a slight noise of happiness in the back of his throat. This time, I pull away.

"You okay?"

I nod. "Mhm. Just need to breathe."

"Understandable." He takes a deep breath. "I love you," he whispers, forehead pressed to mine and eyes crinkling with an uncontrollable smile.

"I love you, too."


End file.
